Using the "good stuff".

I recently broke my vintage blue goblet while washing dishes. There is some risk.

I drink coffee out of my vintage Smurf mug every morning, and regularly drink water out of my Smurf glass daily... I did have to replace my Jokey glass when I broke it once though, and I now have a back up Smurf mug (DD found it at the thrift store.)  

After years of saving the good stuff I sold the complete Christmas dinner set and fancy cutlery that I’d never used.
Fantasy me had a great time hosting parties, reality me never has anyone over for dinner.
Now we just have the cutlery and crockery we use every day and cupboards with ample breathing space, and I used the cash for renos that we badly needed 😁

I'm thinking of using my sterling silver grandparents set for everyday at our condo. (date from marriage in 1924 very deco)

I do use grandmother's china for special holidays.

I don't have any good china or things like that, but I do find myself not wearing some of my more expensive clothes at times. For example, I got a Spanx air essentials sweatshirt for Christmas and only wore it a few times because I was nervous about it getting dirty, people's dogs or cats climbing on me (I work in people's homes often), etc. I try to remember that it isn't doing me any good sitting in the closet.

I use Fiestaware as my everyday plates, bowls, mugs, etc. I know some consider that the good stuff. I do.

I actually donated a lot of my china. I have my grandma's set out away and kept 4 place setting of mine. It has never been used. I have no desire to use it. Got it because at the time everyone out it on their registry.

I do own 9 Le Creuset pieces (Dutch ovens, skillets, braiser, wide round, sauteuse, everyday pan) and I use those weekly. Sometimes every day, sometimes multiple times a day. I feel LC and Staub are the very "good stuff" when it comes to cookware. Up there with all-clad.

I don't own any "good stuff" as in dinnerware or cutlery. I never got married, so I didn't receive any "good china" for a wedding gift. Mind you, I wouldn't have wanted any "good china" anyway. It's a very outdated concept, IMO. I'm pretty sure that young couples getting married today don't get "good china" - or do they?

All of my crockery, cutlery, and glassware are everyday use. 

When it comes to other "good stuff" such as candles, soaps, body lotions etc.... I use it all. 

Two years ago we moved house, and moved all the 'good stuff' that we hardly used with us. As we filled the living room cabinet with beautiful glassware - it was a gift to DH for his 50th birthday from his workplace - we decided we were going to use it whenever we drank wine or other drinks. We couldn't see any point of having it, not using it and then it going to our kids, who wouldn't use it either, because it was 'heirloom'. So now we drink our wine with dinner from Riedel crystal glasses all the time.

I don't have 'good' tableware, as we left both our wedding china and my MiL's with our children when we moved to Germany. I don't think they have used it in the 15 years they've had it either.

We do use the good stuff. I have several sets of china, sterling, crystal, and all sorts of odder table accoutrements like salt cellars, bone plates, shrimp cocktail glasses, and so forth. Cooking and entertaining are my creative outlets. We love to have people over to share a good meal around a pretty table. I have a few sets of everyday stuff too but I love to set out the “good stuff.”

I believe in using what we have in general too. The nicer sheets, the “company” rooms, burning the candles, using the last of the perfume… I don’t really “save” anything. I take great pleasure in using it.

Not as often as I should. Thanks for the nudge. I will try to use the good stuff more often even though I will be the only one to use it.

My mother would often gift my aunt towels because she always had ratty ones in the bathroom. When she passed away all the new ones were in her linen closet unused. My father, her brother, is the same way. He is 90, I don’t know when he expects to use his things.

I do use the good china - not everyday but on holidays and special occasions. Like AussieMeg , I didn't get wedding china - we eloped. But probably 30 years ago my mother passed down her special dessert plates to me. She had bought them in Germany and given them to her mother and then inherited them when Granny passed. I remember we always used them for birthday cake and I loved them. We also use them for birthday cake and other special desserts. And fortunately there are enough that when the time comes - each of my kids can have a couple.

I was given one of my great auntie's china sets maybe 20 years ago? My mum had inherited them and decided to give a set each to me and my sister. Since she was getting married, she got first pick and mum gave me the other set. I didn't especially care for either but the set I got was, imo, the nicer of the two. And we used it for holidays.

When we cleaned out my mum's house - I took her wedding china which I actually liked. It's Wedgewood Edme www.replacements.com/china-wedgwood-edme/c/113567 - and one of the two china sets I remember using from growing up. We now alternate using it and aunties for non-Christmas holiday meals. I was actually going to re-home Aunties but DD17 really loves it so it'll be hers when she's ready for it.It's the holiday china she grew up using.

I do have Christmas dishes (Pfaltzgraf Winterberry) which I've collected one at a time at thrift stores and the like and over the years while I was collecting, used my everyday dishes (Pfaltzgraf Filagree) to supplement. Now I have sufficient that I trade out the everyday for Christmas at the beginning of Advent and we use the Christmas for everyday.

My older kids both have a Pfaltzgraf pattern - DS found a decent collection of Village at a thrift store and has added to it with additional thrift store finds and DD got my mother's Yorktowne collection (which DS has also added to from thrift stores). They aren't good china - just everyday - but they share a house and use Yorktowne in the spring/summer and Village in the fall/winter. DS also has some Belleek shamrock dishes - not a full set, but plates and few other pieces - from my mum that I think he uses for dessert on holidays.

We don't really have good glassware but my mum did buy us wine glasses when she visited and was horrified we didn't have any (we couldn't afford wine at that point so why would we?) and we use those at holidays even though they typically have soda or sparkling juice in them and only rarely wine. We also have 4 crystal mugs that the kids used for holidays -those came from MIL and are most definitely not good crystal.

we've never been a paper plate household and this is our first house with a dishwasher so handwashing 'good china' isn't a big deal since for most of my life I was handwashing everything anyway.

So a longwinded answer of Yes we use the good stuff

I used to be a save the good stuff for something special. Then when I donated my scrapbooking stuff, I realized that I had saved all of my favorite paper for something special and never used them. Don't save it for something special. Use what you love and use it frequently, whether it's dishes, a favorite outfit, etc.